Metallic railway-tie and rail-fastener.



ARGHIBnLD M. GARDNER, Ol: Sll-lLEY, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF Gilli-HALF TO GEORGE CO'lTlhGHAM, OF SIBLEY, IOWA.

. METALLIC RAILWAY-TIE AND RAIL-FASTENER.

N0. sseaoes specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1907.

Application filed April 20, 1907. Serial No. 369,311,

To all -whm' it may concern:

Beit known that I, vA-ncnrnALn M. GARDNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sibley, in the county of Osceola and State of Iowa, have invented a. new and nseiul Metallic Railway-Tie and Rail-Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in ties' or sleepers for supporting the track rails of railroads, and it has for itsobject to providc a device of this character that is more durable and serviceable than those ordinarily made of wood, and which may be made almost wholly of rolled or sheet steel in such shapes as to insure the maximum rigidity and anchorage. in the ballast or road-bed, enabling the ties to be mad e at a reasonable-cost, the rails being mounted on rail supports that provide sufficient resilience between the rail fifflLliLiG as to minimize the shocks on the tie and the rolling stock. i

It has for a further object; to provide improvcd rail securing devices that arcadapted for use on metal ties of varidiis ctuistructions, and serving to positively lock the rail in place to prevent its displacement, although permitting relative longitudinal movement thereof to compensate for temperature variations.

To these and othpr ends, the invention comprises the various novel forms of construction and combination kind arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out particularly in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view oi :1 railway tie constructed in accordance with my present invention, the middle portion thereof being broken away. Fig; 2 is a longitudinal section through one end of the tie showing the relative arrangement of the ra ii and the pedestal supporting it. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the locking dc of my invention conipriscs a base 1 composed preferably of relatively stifi' steel plate of a. suitable thickness and having a series of longitudinally arranged corrugations 2 extending preferably from end to end thereof, the ends of the plate being turned downwardly to form the spades or anchors 3 adapted to be embedded in the ballast or road bed to prevent relative longitudinal movement of the ties. In order to stiffen that portion ot the tie extending between the mile. it is preferable Iio'turn down the opposite longia pair of stiffening flanges 4, the latter having their [lat sides extending in a direction substantially perpendicuhir to the plane of the base.

Qn opposite ends of the base are mounted rail supports or pedestals which, in the present instance, are arranged on the upper side of the base and are com posed, preferably, of sheet metal of a suitable tbiclo ness to enable the pedestals to sustain the weight imposed upon the rails. These pedestals, in the prcscnl instance, embody the oppositelyarranged bowed portions 5 and G, the proximate eiids thereof being fluttened, as at 7 and 8, to iorm rail receiving surfaces, and they re connected by an intermediate portion which extends into proximity to or rests upon the up pcrsideof the base, thisportion, in the present instance being of substantially U-shuped form, the uprights S) and 10 extending substantially vertically between the proximate ends of the curved portions and the base end the horizontal connecting portion ll joining the lower ends of the uprights form a rigid connection between them, and, in cases where the rails to be supported are under heavy suriznre conditions, this connectingportion may rest upon the upper side of the base, as shown, forming a post or supplemental support for those portions oi the pedestal that are immediately below the rail. The pedestals are secured to the base by means of outwardly extending lugs 12 and 13 formed at the outer ends of the bowed por tions of the pcdcsltil, rivets, bolts, or other suitable means 14 and 15 being employed as securing devices.

Any suitable devices may be employed for sccuring the rail on the pedestals, although it is preferable to employ the devices shown in the present embodiment of-the invention for the reason that they positively lock the rail in plaice and avoid the use of bolts that are subject to loosening by reason of the vibrations due to passing vehicles. These rail securing devices embody in the present instance, a pair of locks 16 and 17 fitting in 0 slots 18 and l9iorzned in the pedestaland base ad opposite sides of the rail,

the locks being each provided with transversely extending recesses 20 adapted to receive the peripheral edge of the base flange of the rail and forming shoulders 21 and 22 adapted to engage above the base flange of the rail and the under side of the pedestal, respectively. These locks are inserted through the slots at either side of the rail, vand -ere held in cooperative relation with the rail and pedestal by means of wedges 23 which are preferably composed of wood or other similar material, these wedges extending between the pedestal and the base and being provided with casings 24 which engage the walls of the slots and thereby minimize the wear on the wedges due to vibratory t'udinal edges of themiddle portion of the tie to form movements between the pedestals and the base. These wedges, if so desired, may be locked in place,

' the locking devices shown in the present instance comprising dogs having intermediate fulcrum portions 25 5 resting in slots '26 on the upper side of the pedestal,

1 the inner end 27 being adapted to'rest above the upper end or the wedgeZS-and its outer end extending beneath the upper side of the pedestal and having an upturned end 28 projecting through an aperture 29 in the upper surface of the pedestal and provided with an eye 30 adapted to receive a wedge or other retaining device 31. In order to take up any looseness that may occur between the wedges and the respective looks, a

pair of supplemental wedges 32 are'provided, these wedges being adapted to engage between the main wedges and the respective rail locks and, when driven,

occur, although it will be capable of a relative lon-' gitudinal movement to compensatefor temperature variations.

Instead of employing'a corrugated base plate for the tie, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, a substantially flat or plain base may b employed, that is to say, the stiffening corrugations may be omitted, as shown ill Fig. 6, the lateral flanges 131 in such a case extendingpreferably throughout the length of the longitudinal edges of the base, and one or more shallow longitudinal grooves 132 may be provided, if desired, to stiffen the base plate.

It will be understood, of course, that: the rail locking or fastening devices, while they are particularly adapted for-use in connection with a tie of the construction shown, are capable of being employed on.

40 ties of various other constructions, and that I claim the fastening devices when used in, connection with tiesof various constructions other than those shown,

andthese rail fastenings are capable of firmly securing. the rail without the use of bolts or other devices that ballast of the track, and rail supporting pedestals rerun-'- nently secured to the base at its opposite ends and hav'- ing their sides toward the longitudinal edges of the base open to receive ballast.

2. A rail supporting pedestal. embodying a pair of oppositely arranged-bow-shaped portions adapted to be at- 'tached iiii'their lower outer ends to a tie or other support and having their upper inner ends arranged in allnement I I and forming rail supporting surfaces, and a yieldable intermediate portion connecting the said inner ends.

3.. In devices for locking railway rails upon ties and other supports, the combination with a rail supporting portion adapted to be secured to the tie and provided with slots arranged at opposite sides ot'the base flange oi the rail, of rail locks adapted to fit into the said slots and having portions arranged to engage respectively the up per side of the base flange of the rail and the underside oi the rail supporting portion, wedges for retaining "said locks in operative position, and retaining devices for the wedges.

4. In a railway tie, the combination with a. suitable base, of a pair oi rail supporting pedestals arranged on the up per side thereof, each pedestal being supported at its endsv and having rail supporting portions spaced above the base of the tie, and an intermediate post connecting the rail supporting portions of the pedestal and the base.-

5. In a railway tie, the combination with n"suitable base, of a pair oi? rail supporting pedestals arranged on the upper side' thereof eachembodying oppositely arranged bow-shaped portions having their outer ends secured to the base, and a yoke-shaped intermediate portion connecting the proximate ends or the bowshaped' portlons.

6. In a railway tie, the combination with a suitable base, of 'a pair of rail supporting pedestals each composed of sheet metal and embodying oppositely arranged and-having shoulders to engage the-base flange of the rail on the underside of the pedestal, and wedges fitting into said slots in rear of said blocks'for retaining them in cooperative relation with the rail. I

'8, In a 'railway tie, the combination with a suitable base, and rail supporting pedestals mounted thereon, slots being formed in the"ped estals and. in the base, of rail locks adapted to fit into the slots of the pedestal and base and each having shoulders arranged to engage thebase flange of the rail and'flre' under surface of the pedestal adjacent thereto, wedgeigflttlng into the slots-oi the pedestal and base, and device s'for preventing removal oi! the wedges.

9. In a railway tie, thecombination with a suitable base, and rail supporting pedestals thereon, the pedestals and base being provided with registering slots, of rail iockl'zdspted to lit the slots in the pedestals and base and extending between the latter, saidlocks having shouldersadapted to engage the base flange oi the rail and an ad jace'nt portion of the pedestal, and a dog foinsecuring the. wedges in. place embodying a portianextending over the-upper edge of the wedgey'a portion extending beneath the ,upper surface 0! the pedestal and having an outturnedend projecting above the upper surface of the pedestal and provided with an eye, and a) device engaging the said eye for preventing displacement of the dog.

b In testimony that I claim the toregoing'ias my own,'-I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of'two witnesses. w ARCHIBALD M. GARDNER.

Witnesses:

1F. Ms'msr, C. R. Young. 

